A researcher investigated Java exploits, and drew on one well-know example, to explain how one of the most common classes of attack spreads.
To further stop the spread of the Flashback trojan, Apple on Monday released two security updates for Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard).
News briefs: The latest news from Apple, Verizon, CrowdStrike, FTC and more
April 25, 2012
The recent outbreak of the Flashback trojan on Mac computers is a case study in how unprepared security professionals are for dealing with malware that's not specific to Windows.
At least two security firms that estimated a significant drop in Mac systems infected with the data-stealing Flashback trojan admit they made erroneous calls.
Researchers have discovered a correlation between infected WordPress sites and the propagation of the prolific Mac Flashback trojan.
Symantec analysis of the botnet shows that many computers remain compromised with the trojan, though hundreds of thousands have been cleaned, and the infrastructure contains a Twitter communication apparatus.
A new trojan is targeting the same Java vulnerability that the Flashback malware took advantage of last week.
Apple has released a third update related to Flashback, but this time, the patch comes with a detection and removal capability for the prolific trojan, and disables Java by default.
The company said it is creating software that will detect and remove Flashback, as well as coordinating with global ISPs to dismantle the botnet's infrastructure.
Security researchers said the number of Flashback-infected Mac computers significantly fell over the weekend, but that doesn't mean the botnet has been crippled.
Security experts are backing up one anti-virus vendor's estimate of the massive size of a Mac trojan botnet.
It's time for Apple to step up its game when it comes to dealing with security threats.
Although Apple released a Java update this week to prevent the spread of a dangerous trojan, experts say the botnet continues to grow, and the U.S. accounts for over half of the compromised Macs.
